Two Connecticut "College Towns" Cited as Among the Safest in The US

SafeWise.com, an independent website that says it is “dedicated to providing consumers with information and educational materials about home security” released a report on the thirty ‘safest” colleges in the country.

The website cites a survey by Wearsafe Labs a personal secutiry company that said, “70% of parents feel that campus safety is critical to school choice.”

Saewise said, “safety isn’t always just about the campus, though. The city a college calls home also plays a big role in making a final decision. Whether you’re a new college student, sending a child away to school for the first time, or considering a move to a college town, you want to know that the community around the college also has a lot to offer.”

See if your favorite location made this year’s list of the safest college towns in the country.

As could be expected all the choices of top cities could fall into the “town” concept for most parents. Durham, New Hampshire, population 14,500 and home of the University of New Hampshire was given the top ranking. Amherst, Mass. [population 37,000] home to four colleges was given the number 4 ranking. Roger Williams University’s home town of Bristol, Rhode Island [population 23,000] was ranked number 6.

In Connecticut, Fairfield [population 61,000] is, the home of Fairfield and Sacred Heart Universities and was ranked 24 with the site saying, “for the fourth year in a row, Fairfield, Conn. has been named one of the safest college towns in America.”

Todd A. Pelazza, Director of Fairfield University’s Department of Public Safety. At Fairfield Univesristy told the site’s researchers, “we continually strive to make our community a safe place,” adding, “our collaboration with our town’s Police and Fire Departments are prime examples of those partnerships, including training together in crisis management, violent intruder response, and self-defense classes.”

According to the Safewise report, “In 2015, the city reported twenty-one violent crimes and 945 property crimes. Parents sending their students off to Fairfield or Sacred Heart universities can breathe a sigh of relief knowing that the community has relatively low crime rates.”

Perhaps a surprise to some number 29 on the list was the home of the University of New Haven Chargers, West Haven [population 54,000]. According to Safewise, “the brilliant fall foliage may attract flocks of students to the University of New Haven, but the quality of life and the safe city streets make them want to stay. West Haven was settled in 1648 and is home to multiple buildings on the National Register of Historic Places. Preserving its heritage and protecting its citizens are equally important to this historic college town. West Haven police work from a spirit of cooperation and mutual respect, which helped them keep violent crime to fewer than seventy incidents in 2015. Along with accolades for safety, UNH has also been recognized by the Princeton Review as one of its 2017 Best Colleges.”